


cleaved

by Echo (Lyrecho)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Divergence, Multi, prince of tenebrae au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 23:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10292165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrecho/pseuds/Echo
Summary: Fleeing from Niflheim, Prompto's mother never makes it to Insomnia, and from this, everything changes.|Tumblr||Twitter|





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheIskraeon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIskraeon/gifts).



Sylva is making rounds through one of Tenebrae's orphanages, and she sees this baby boy. And, somehow, he has the scourge in him.

She rushes him back to the palace/temple and realises she can't heal him like she can others infected with the scourge; this baby isnt _sick_ with the makings of a daemon, he _is_ one on a genetic level, as equally as he is human.

She stares in horror as she realises - Niflheim, and just how far theyre willing to go

She takes him in, so she can keep an eye on him - make sure the scourge doesnt harm him or integrate itself any further - and he is raised as Ravus and Luna's younger brother; just kept secret from most of the people because Sylva doesnt want to run the risk that someone will recognise him from the empire _at all_.

Even though Lucis and Tenebrae are close allies and she and Regis are close, personally, she doesnt want to risk Prompto's safety - so she doesnt tell them of his existence and nearly has a heart attack when little Noctis, come to recover after a daemon attack, tells his father quietly of the little blonde prince that sneaks into his room and is his friend that he is pretty sure is a ghost.

Sylva confesses the truth of Prompto's existence to Regis, not wanting to lie or keep Prompto from the only friend he's made close to his age other than his siblings -

And its solely because of this decision that when the empire invades and Regis flees, he takes Prompto along with them.

Luna and Ravus are left behind - but maybe are a little better off for knowing that their little brother will be safe behind Insomnia's Wall.

∆

Prompto is quiet when they finally get to Insomnia. In fact, he was quiet pretty much the entire trip there, avoiding imperial squads - Regis couldn't blame the child for feeling how he did, and hadn't tried to draw him out of his silence; _let him be, son,_ he'd said whenever Noctis tried to approach the youngest prince of Tenebrae.

One thing Sylva hadn't told Regis was the fact that Prompto was adopted - his looks were, after all, close enough to that of the line of Tenebrae to pass as her blood son, and she had never wanted to risk _anyone_ finding out _anything_ about Prompto's connections to Niflheim. So, as far as both Niflheim and Lucis know, Regis had managed to escape both Tenebrae and the empire's grasp with one of the royal blood - an heir to the throne not under Niflheim's control.

A symbol of freedom. Of _hope_.

In one world, a cloud falls over Tenebrae and its royal siblings after the empire's occupation - but in this world the oppression isn't as bad. The people of the kingdom that have watches their youngest prince grow with the smallest of glimpses over the years pray that he will remain out of the empire's hands and Luna and Ravus smile inside, knowing that their brother is safe inside Insomnia's Wall - knowing that all the pain and hardships and suffering that they're experiencing at the empire's hands will _never_ touch Prompto.

As far as Regis and his council know, they hold the last of the Oracle's line free in their care. Almost as much as their own Crown Prince, he must be kept safe - for as long as the empire _doesn't_ have him, they don't truly have Tenebrae.

For the first few months, Prompto lives in the palace, the citadel - spending most of his time quietly by Noctis' side when the crown prince isn't sleeping in order to continue the recovery that Niflheim cut short back in Tenebrae. When Noctis _is_ sleeping, Prompto is a slip, a ghost in the halls of the palace, and King Regis quietly tells people to leave the boy be - he knows grief, and it's not as if a child prince of Tenebrae is any danger at all.

(years later, Regis will learn just how wrong he was about this - during those weeks of freedom, not only did Prompto learn the nooks and crannies of the palace better than almost anyone, he found the crystal, and Bahamut.

...but that's a story for another time.)

Once Noctis fully recovers, Prompto, too, is making his own way down the path to being okay - his siblings are kept away from him and are in danger; his mother was killed as he could only scream and watch on in horror - but he's strong, stronger than even he knows, and by eachothers sides, the two of them help one another more than either could ever truly know.

He meets the people that Noctis calls his friends, his most precious and important people - Ignis, and Gladio and his little sister - but while they're nice, Prompto finds himself being drawn closer to the people of the Kingsglaive that had smiled at him so kindly when he had grieved quietly in the darkest corners of the palace; around those that also feel out of place in Insomnia, have also lost their homes to the empire - that's where he feels the most _at_ 'home' when he can't be beside Noct.

And, when he grows into the magic that most expect him to hold as one of the blood of the oracle, it's a good thing he is so close to Crowe Altius, one of the few born these days with the rare gift of magic, because to everyone's surprise - his magic isn't light, focused on healing - no, his skill is greatest in the pure, wild elemancy aligned with the darker arts; meant to _cause_ damage, not cure it.

In particular, he has an almost bizzare affinity for fire spells - when it has long been known that the strength of Tenebrae lies in winter, and in ice.

∆

Normally, magic came with puberty - no one was really sure why, and even if it _was_ a 'period of great change' in a young person's life, Crowe was of the personal opinion that giving teenagers the ability to set things on fire with their mind was a Bad Idea. Lady knows that she'd burnt down more than one shed in Galahd trying to figure out the magical powers she suddenly had when she hit thirteen.

But, stupid or no, that was just an accepted fact - magic came with hormones, like an apology to a select few from the gods for the horrible acne. Which was why it was such a shock when the last free Prince of Tenebrae - the Crown Prince, technically, if Crowe was getting the laws of war and conquering right; as the last free member of the bloodline he was heir to all of Tenebrae as considered by those also out from Niflheim's control - started letting out sparks. He was, like, _ten_.

It made some sense, in the end - the blood of the Oracle had always been magically strong and great ordeals had always triggered paradigm shifts in magic; even the flames that had manifested as his main affinity over the ice that the Fleuret line was known for made sense when one thought of his anger and his grief...weird or not, Crowe couldn't blame the prince for having dangerous magic that escaped him; he was quiet, most of the time, as if being a ghost and unnoticeable had been trained into him - it probably had, but the problem was that he wasn't giving himself time to _grieve_.

Crowe was teaching him, because the magic that came from within was different than magic of the crystal or elemancy of the land; when the king had ordered her to help the Prince he'd probably just meant with control - but Crowe knew what it was like to lose everything: your home, your family, all of the world that was familiar to you - so she decided to interpret 'help' as it best suited her.

"Where are we?" The prince - Prompto - blinked up at her with eyes that were curious, but not concerned, and Crowe's heart melted a bit. He was just so trusting - it was a really, really good thing that she wasn't actually a kidnapper.

"We're going to meet some of my friends," she said, and pushed open the door to the restaurant she was leading him to. "They want to hear all about Tenebrae from you, if you don't mind?"

Prompto tilted his head. "You're a liar, Crowe," he said quietly. "No one wants me to talk about Tenebrae. It makes them _sad_." There was something bewildered in that last word, and Crowe crouched down, gripping Prompto's shoulders tightly so that he looked at her.

"Does it make _you_ sad?" She asked carefully, and he shook hs head, _no._

"Well," Crowe said, keeping her tone deliberately light. "Whenever you want to talk about Tenebrae, or your family, you can just come talk to me, okay?" She summoned up a smile. "I know what its like to miss a home you can never go back to, so I'll understand."

It was faint, but Prompto smiled at her.


End file.
